Tony's Visit
by crazylove1980
Summary: Tony visits Jethro's graveside. This story contains a relationship between two male characters and has a major character death and is sad and this is strange because I am not a depressed person and for some reason this is what my fingers wrote.
1. Chapter 1

_**The characters belong to CBS and I make nothing from this.**_

_**Just a little fic that popped in my head that needed to be released.**_

Tony slumped down beside the headstone and thought hard about what he wanted to say, " Jethro I miss you so much, 25 years of loving, living, and working with you was enough." Tony stopped by every week and left flowers on his lovers' grave, it wasn't enough to dispel the loneliness but was all the time he could bring himself to allow between visits. They had been together since just after his recovery from the plague after Jethro had ordered him not to die and Tony just couldn't bring himself to go against the order. He had lost Jethro a little over a year ago to a drunk driver as he was coming home from the store with some medicine for their youngest who had the flu. It was unexpected when instead of Jethro at the front door it was the police telling them that Jethro had died instantly and hadn't suffered. Tony thought that it was good that he hadn't suffered but the hole that had been left in their family was just impossible to fill and he had decided that he would't even try. Tony had decided that he would be content to raise their children and wait for the day when they would be reunited with each other. As he sat beside Jethro and told him of the day to day events of the family and how everyone was doing he realized that even though Jethro was gone the closeness and love that they had shared hadn't ended. He traced his fingers over the name on the headstone, stood up and told Jethro he loved him and would see him soon and walked away, ready to continue living...at least for another week.


	2. Chapter 2

_**I still don't own them, nor do I make money off of this.**_

_**This is for Meilea2010 who kindly asked for more.**_

Another week had gone by and Tony was back visiting Jethro and telling him about their children's latest antics. When he thought about the children it amazed him that after all his years at NCIS and the death of Kelly and Shannon that Jethro had even given fatherhood another chance. Abree was adopted after Tony and Jethro had kept her in their protective custody after her parents were murdered on the base at Quantico. She had just turned twenty-two, Liam, now seventeen, was Jethro's biological son by surrogate after Tony convinced him that he wanted a child with those mesmerizing blue eyes, and Gabriel and Garret were their four year old twins by surrogate but were Tony's biological children. They had been so happy when the twins were born, Jethro wanted a child that had Tony's smile and they had gotten that in duplicate. Three short years later Jethro was killed by a drunk driver when he was on the way home from picking up a prescription at the pharmacy for Garret who had the flu. Tony was distraught for weeks after his death and he had no outlet for his anger. He wished that he could at least confront the man who essentially murdered his husband but the driver died as well so he had no closure just the sense of total loss that had plagued him for the better part of a year. As he sat beside the stone with Jethro's name on it he started talking and couldn't seem to stop.

"Jethro, I don't understand how I am supposed to raise the kids that are still at home by myself. There is only one of me and three of them. Don't be mad at me but Abree decided to take a job as a news correspondent in London, I couldn't even attempt to stop her because she always has been her Daddy's girl and with you gone I didn't stand a chance in getting her to stay. That girl was raised by us to be strong and take care of herself and she said that she needed a change and I could understand that. Now, Liam is having a lot of trouble with your being gone, he is constantly in trouble and I have had to go to school twice this week because he was in a fight and because he back talked a teacher. He is at the age that he wants to grow up but is still little boy enough to need us to help him through all that teenage angst. I got him an appointment with a psychologist that was recommended by Abby and McGee so I hope that she can help us learn to deal with each other without you as a buffer. I swear that boy is just like me and we just butt heads because we are so much alike. Gabriel and Garret were just to young to understand what was going on, but I show them your picture every night and we talk about the things that you used to do with them. I remind them that their Daddy loves them and that he is proud of all their accomplishments. God, Jethro I miss you so bad and there are days that I just want to lay in bed and never move again, but I can't. I have to keep getting up, keep working, and keep living without you and it's not fair to me or our kids." By the end of his one sided conversation, Tony was sitting with his back against the stone and his face streaked with tears. As he sat there contemplating everything he had told Jethro, he closed his eyes, took a deep breath and said, "Jethro, if you can hear me, I need you to know that I will always love you but I can't keep coming here week after week, never telling anyone where I sneak off to, and never acknowledging that I live with a hole in my soul. I love you and I feel like I am bleeding out with nothing able to stop it and that it is only a matter of time before there's no blood left in me. The only thing keeping me going is our children and the need to be everything normal and stable in their life."

As Tony stood and turned to go he heard a whisper on the breeze that said, "I love you Tony, remember that and never forget..."


	3. Chapter 3

_**The characters belong to CBS and I make nothing from this.**_

Tony sat down on the couch in their house and thought about the last two weeks. He knew that the kids were suffering because he wasn't able to move on. He couldn't figure out a way to dig out of the hole that he was in and decided that he would just talk to Abree and Liam, they were more than old enough to understand what he was saying. With that decided he called and left Abree a message to come for dinner tonight and a family meeting after and called Liam down from upstairs and told him that they would be discussing his troubles at school and some other matters after dinner that night with his sister.

As Liam left the room, Gabe and Rett came running through the house yelling, "Pappa, Pappa guess what happened today?"

"Well, I don't know, what happened?", Tony could tell that the smile on his face was huge but just looking at these two could swamp him in love. The boys were so excited about something but he had no idea what.

"Aren't you gonna tell me what has you so excited?", Tony asked.

"Pappa, there is gonna be a show for parents next week and we get to be in it," Rett said.

"Really? What are you gonna do?"

"We are gonna get to sing a song and we want to sing one for you and Daddy," Gabe replied.

Tony felt his eyes water and his throat get tight but he managed to squeeze out," Wow. I think that is a great idea! Do you get to choose the song or will your teacher choose it for you?"

"We get to choose and we would like to sing and we want to sing one of Daddy's favorite songs, the one you danced around the kitchen to but we can't remember the name of it. Will you tell us?", Rett asked.

"The slow one or the fast one?"

"The slow one, y'know the one that always made Daddy smile at you and sing to you?", Gabe said.

"OK, well that one is called Lost and it's by a singer named Michael Bublé and I think that it would be just perfect for you to sing." Tony was so close to breaking down he wasn't sure what he would do to avoid scaring the boys. Thankfully Liam came bounding down the stairs and saved him by calling at the boys to play outside with him. Tony looked over and mouthed, "Thank you" to Liam and went upstairs to try to get himself under control.

Tony looked up at the ceiling from where he was laying on the bed and said, "Jethro, I am amazed by our children again. They want to sing a song for us at their school show, the one we danced to in the kitchen, but what amazes me is that they remember us dancing and laughing and loving. That renews my faith in being able to raise them by myself. I was worried that I couldn't teach them everything that they need to know without you here to help me but I think now maybe I have a chance to ensure that they always remember you."

Tony sat up and went over to the ipod stand and picked it up, walked out the door, down the stairs and out the door to the backyard. When he got there he sat the ipod down on the table on the deck, turned on _Lost_ and went to play with his kids. He was finally beginning to feel more at peace with himself and decided that it was the perfect day to start a new tradition in their family, a way to help the twins remember their Daddy and the good times that they had together. He knew that in just a few more hours he would sit down and discuss things with his older children but until then playtime looked fun.


	4. Chapter 4

_**The characters belong to CBS and I don't profit from anything.**_

Tony sat down after dinner with Liam and Abree to talk. "So, I wanted to talk to you two about the family and where we are now." He was completely at a loss at where to even start this conversation but knew that he was the one they were counting on.

"After Dad died, I was really in a fog and I know that between the two of you, you kept the boys...honestly I don't know whether to admit that you kept them away from me until I could function, or if it was just to protect them from seeing me breaking down all the time but you took care of your brothers at the point when I couldn't and I appreciate that so much, but I need to know if you lost all respect for me then?"

Liam was quick to ask,"Pappa why would you even think something like that?"

Tony replied," With all the trouble you have been having recently and your sister fixing to take that overseas assignment, it had me wondering if I completely broke the relationship that we had by not being strong when you were."

Liam looked at his pappa and couldn't decide whether to tell him the truth,"Pappa, the trouble I have been getting in is not due to you at all it is not your fault that you loved Dad so much that when you lost him it left you dazed, the reason that I keep getting into the fights and the back talking is because the son of the man who hit Dad started going to my school and I haven't been dealing with it well."

"Liam, why didn't you tell me? I would have helped you, we could have talked about it or you could have seen someone to talk to." Tony was so upset that his son didn't feel that he could come to him with this. Was he that unapproachable now? Did his kids not trust him to help anymore?

Liam looked at his pappa and knew that he was blaming himself. "Pappa this was not something that you could have known about, it was my poor decision making that let it get to this point. I am sorry that I didn't come to you before now and I could use the help dealing with this."

Tony looked at Liam and told him that if he gave him the night to think on it they could discuss it afterschool the next day.

Tony turned to his daughter and asked her,"Well, what do you think?"

Abree looked at her pappa, burst into tears and ran from the table. Tony looked at Liam and asked," Do you know what that is about?"

Liam looked over and shook his head no, but got up and started after his sister.

Tony got up to follow his son but something stopped him. He looked over in the corner where Jethro's favorite chair was and he swore that he could smell the sawdust in the air. He started after Abree and heard, "Take care of our girl, something is wrong and you need to find out what it is." He looked all around but couldn't see anyone but he knew in his heart that Jethro was speaking to him, now if he could just figure out what it meant.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

As Tony left the room, Jethro was found standing by his favorite chair. He wasn't visible and had never been but he had been trying hard to get Tony to hear him. He thought that he had succeeded this time but he must not have.

Jethro had been unable to move on, he loved Tony to much to leave without saying goodbye. He had been trying for a year and a half to get through to Tony during his weekly visits to the grave but couldn't.

Jethro had now figured out how to get home and be able to watch over the kids and Tony where they interacted. When he had been killed he had left many things unsaid and now he _had_ to fix it, he couldn't leave Tony with any doubts about how well he was doing raising the kids or the fact that the children would realize in time just how hard it was for him to get up in the morning.

Jethro knew that if he waited at some point the emotion in the air would give him the needed boost to be able to let Tony know all of his feelings and regrets. Maybe if he just waited a little longer then he would accomplish his mission.

**A/N I apologize for the wait between chapters. My usual update day is Friday but my youngest had a nasty stomach virus last Thursday and Friday and the oldest had awards day at school. Thanks for the patience! Please let me know what you thought about this chapter, it wasn't what I had intended to write but this was what came out anyway. Next chapter will pick back up with Abree, Liam, and Tony.**


	6. Chapter 6

_**The characters belong to CBS and I am an in-debt college student so I make nothing!**_

Tony made his way out to the back deck where Abree was wrapped in Liam's arms crying her eyes out.

"SHH, Abree you gotta calm down," Liam was talking low and stroking his sister's hair trying to get her to take a breath and tell him what was wrong.

Abree looked up at Liam and asked, "Where's Pappa? I don't want to have to say this twice."

Tony walked up to the pair, sat down and said,"Abree, honey, what ever is wrong we will try our best to help in anyway but you have to tell us what you need."

Abree looked at the man who had helped raise her and burst into more tears, through the tears she tried to talk,"Pappa, ...I'm...pregnant...but the doctor found something that wasn't right with my blood tests and now he thinks that I might have some sort of cancer..."

Tony looked over Abree's head at Liam and tugged both of his children into his arms and tried to bring a little comfort to each of them.

"Abree, we will help you fight this every step of the way and we will be with you and support you in however you need us to. You are not doing this alone." Tony looked up at the sky, his heart breaking silently asking God just how much he thought this family could take.

After a few more minutes Tony looked at the kids and said," All right, crying is over. We will not cry over this anymore tonight, we have a baby on the way and a rough time ahead but we are part of a family that will give us support and love and that is what we will give Abree and the baby. Abree, what about the father?"

"Pappa, he was just a guy I went out on a few dates with."

"Abree, you were not raised to sleep with a man after a few dates if there were no feelings between you." Tony looked at his daughter and frowned. Something about this wasn't adding up in his mind so he asked," Why don't you tell me the truth?"

"Pappa, please don't ask, I don't want to talk about it right now." Abree was looking down at her feet and avoiding his gaze.

" Ok, for now I will drop this but I need to know when the next doctor's appointment is to find out more about your blood tests."

"The doctor told me that I needed to come back next Monday for more blood work that can actual determine more precisely what it is. I hope that someone will be able to go with me because I don't think that I am strong enough to do this on my own."

Abree looked at Liam and then Tony with such pain in her eyes that neither one could resist pulling her into a hug once more.

Tony said,"You are not alone and will never be alone in this family. We stick together and love each other no matter what and I know that your Dad is up there looking down on us and loving us enough that we will never feel alone."

Tony looked Liam and said," I think that it is time for us to go inside and try to rest. I love both of you and we will figure out what will help all of us get through this. Now, go upstairs and shower and I will see you in the morning."

After he had locked the house up for the night, Tony went to check on Abree, who was asleep, Gabe and Rett had tossed their covers off the bed and he tucked them in again, and went to check on Liam, who was laying in bed listening to his mp3 player.

"Good night son, I love you," Tony said with a smile.

" Night Pappa, I will see you in the morning." Liam rolled over and covered up.

Tony walked into his bedroom, sat on the bed, looked at the picture of him and Jethro and asked," Are we ever going to get a break, how much more can this family take before we break?"

Tony got up and went to shower and go to bed, tomorrow was another day and who knew what would kick him while he was down.


	7. Chapter 7

_**The characters belong to CBS, I make no money. **_

_**As you know I normally update on Fridays but I am trying to get my house ready to sell and my kids were in their first wreck on Saturday with my grandparents, no one was hurt but I had a hard time trying to write anything between the two. **_

_**Sorry for the delay, on with the story...**_

The morning after the conversation with Abree, Tony rolled over and looked at one of the photos on his nightstand. "Jethro, I promise that I will do everything I can to make Abree believe that she will be able to face anything that is thrown at her now."

Tony knew that if he was going to maintain his composure and strength to face what was going on in their world now, he had to ask for help. He reached for the phone on the table and decided that he might as well call Abby. If there was anyone who would help them cope with the new challenges, she would.

As he waited for Abby to pick up the phone, he realized that he would have to tell the whole team and he wasn't ready to make it real yet.

"Abby, can you come over to the house this evening after we get done at NCIS?"

Abby had to think for a few seconds about whether she had anything that she had to do after work before she replied,"Sure Tony, what's up?"

"I'd rather tell you face to face because it isn't good news but I can't even face it right now but I hope that by the time the day is over I can."

"Tony, you are scaring me a little here, are you okay? The kids?"

Abby got no response from Tony for those questions," Okay I won't push right now but I will be over after work so that we can discuss this. I have to go get ready for work now I will see you later okay?"

"Okay Abs, see you at work." Tony hung up the phone and rolled over, thinking about what was about to take place was hard but he had to be there for Abree and the kids and he knew that he would draw strength from Abby and her love for the family.


	8. Chapter 8

_**The characters belong to CBS. I don't earn anything off of this.**_

Abby pulled in the driveway of Tony's house, wondering just what it was that Tony needed her for. She knew that the last year and a half had been nearly impossible for Tony to endure but for the kids he had managed to drag himself out of depression over Gibbs' death and manage to keep the team together despite all of Vance's manuevering to get them to add another member to the team.

Tony had been adamant that no one was joining their team and family until he found someone that could interact with them easily and listen and learn with an open mind. Vance had decided to just let Tony have his way rather than lose the rest of the best team that NCIS had.

Abby opened the door to her hearse and got out of the car. She was waiting on Gabe and Rett to come running out to greet her like they did every time they heard her car stop in the driveway. Sure enough, the front door of the house whipped open and two little boys ran down the stairs hollering, "Aunt Abs, Aunt Abs, you came to see us. We missed you, you haven't been to see us in a long time."

Abby smiled at the two and said, "A long time? I would have promised that I had just seen you last week. Are you sure that it has been a long time?"

"Well, it seemed like a long time to me," said Rett." We wish that you were hear more often! Where is Aunt Ziva and Uncle Tim?"

"Rett, Aunt Ziva and Uncle Tim are still working. I came because your Pappa asked me to come have dinner and a talk with him this evening. Do you know what he wants to talk about?"

"Nope, he had a meeting with the big kids last night but wouldn't let us be there 'cause it was after our bedtime."

Tony opened the door and walked out of the house,"Boys, why don't you let Aunt Abs come in the door to ask her a million questions." He had to grin at just how enthusiastic his children were, they reminded him of himself when he was that age. He knew that the coming conversation with Abby would be hard and that more tears would be shed but he needed to talk to her before he brought McGee and Ziva into the loop.

He told the boys that they needed to go inside and finishe their homework and that he and Abby were going to fix dinner.

"Come on, Abs. I am really glad that you could make it, I needed a friend tonight."

"Sure thing, Tony but what is going on?"

"Not right now, I can't let the kids overhear this because it would devastate them to much."

"All right, I won't ask any questions till they go to bed but all this secrecy has me worried."

Tony grimaced and looked at her,"Abby, I hate to say it but you need to worry."


	9. Chapter 9

**The characters belong to CBS. I make no money from this.**

**Real life has intervened in my writing lately but I want to have this done before I start back to school in mid-August. I am preparing for the GRE so I hope that you will bear with my erratic writing schedule but I need to do really well on that test.**

After dinner Abby sat at the table while Tony was upstairs bathing Rett and Gabe and putting them to bed. Liam was out of the house with his friends studying for some big test he had the next day and Abree hadn't been feeling good so she had stayed home. Abby knew that whatever Tony was going to tell her would be bad maybe not as bad as Gibbs' accident but bad enough that Tony was freaking out and reaching out to her for help.

They had all been a family, though Tony and Gibbs had married and had children, she knew that they had regarded the team as their extended family and Ziva, Tim, Abby, Jimmy, Breena, and Ducky were considered aunts and uncles except for Grampa Ducky. Tim had been the first to leave the team, he had taken a promotion to head cybercrimes and while he had been reluctant to leave the field, he had decided that the more cyber support that teams had the more crimes that were solved. Ziva had stayed and was still on the MCRT team although she was now the senior field agent to Tony. Jimmy took over the morgue when Ducky retired and he and Breena have two teenagers. Ducky retired from NCIS and played Grampa most of the time to all the kids.

Abby knew that Tony would tell them very soon about whatever was wrong but he needed his pseudo-sister to help him now.

As Tony clomped down the stairs, Abby drew in a deep calming breath and waited for Tony to join her at the table.

"Abs, I can't even begin to think how to break this to you gently so here goes, Abree has been diagnosed with cancer." Tony fought to keep his voice level when he was delivering the news that shattered his world a few nights ago."But that's not all, she's pregnant as well."

"Oh, Tony..." was all that Abby managed to say before bursting into tears and throwing her arms around him.

Tony waited for what seemed like hours for Abby to compose herself and said," I need you to do me the biggest favor that you have ever done for me."

"What? You know that if I can I will."

"I need you to go with Abree to the oncologists, she doesn't want me to go because she thinks that this will be to hard on me and I don't want her going alone so you were our compromise. If you can do it, that is."

"Tony, when have I ever refused to help with something to do with the kids?"

"Never, but this is a lot to ask of you. We are all upset about this and I just can't find an even keel with all of this emotion swirling around inside of my head. I either feel like I am breaking into little pieces every minute or that I am wound so tightly that the slightest pressure will shatter me into a thousand little pieces that won't ever fit back together."

Tony's confession took the last little bit of courage that he had. To confess something like that to Abby was the equivalent of laying his soul bare for strangers. He was supposed to be the strong one that held it together but the end of his rope seemed nearer than it ever had and if it snapped he wasn't sure that anything could hold him together. He had once thought that he could get through anything, then Jethro had been killed and that had nearly made him crumble but for something to happen to their daughter was almost more than he could stand. Abby was his sister in everything but blood and he never wanted her to see him as anything more than an anchor and now he was floundering, reaching for a lifeline and the only one who had ever been able to help was gone. In moments like these he hated the man who had taken his husband, his rock, from them.

"Tony, you need to remember that you have family with us and we won't let you break or shatter, you might bend a little but we will hold you up, until you can manage that for yourself. We need to let the rest of the family know soon so that the support can be here when it's needed."

"I know Abby, but I don't know how many more times that I can say this and hold my family together." Tony laid his head down on Abby's shoulder and cried. He was finally crying the tears that had not come when Jethro died, the ones that said his world was crumbling, shaking on its very foundations. He had cried thousands of tears during the last year and a half but not the ones that mattered most to him, the ones that said that he was human and fallible and loved and lost all to soon.

A/N

I hope that you read and review this and let me know what you think of this chapter because I can't decide how** I** feel about this chapter.


	10. Chapter 10

_**The characters belong to CBS. I make no monetary profit.**_

_**I hope that the large portions of dialogue don't make this to difficult to read but it needed to be written.**_

After Abby left that evening Tony went upstairs and checked on the kids. Gabe and Rett were curled up with each other in the same bed, Tony knew that they must have been upset because that was when they sought each other out. Try as he might Tony felt like he was failing them, no matter how hard he tried to fill the hole that Jethro left he just couldn't do everything. He covered the boys up, kissed their foreheads, and left the room.

He tapped on Liam's door and waited for him to answer, "Hey, can I come in?"

"Sure, papa, what's up?" Liam looked up from where he was finishing the last of his homework.

"I told Abs about your sister tonight and I wanted to talk to you about maybe helping me tell your brothers and the rest of the family." Tony sat down on the corner of Liam's bed while he was talking."I know that this is going to be tough for the next little bit but I wanted to tell Gabe and Rett after Abree's appointment so that they don't find out by overhearing conversations. I know that as much as we want to protect them, letting them find out from anyone but me would be a disaster and I hate to burden you with this but I don't think that I can tell them alone. I miss your dad so much, he was my...I want to say rock or anchor or world but none of them fit right. He was so much more than all of those combined, I spent the better part of twenty years loving and living beside him, for him, and with him that trying to do this on my own is a..."

"**Pappa, you need to breath!"** Liam yelled at Tony. "Don't think that you have to explain, Dr. Schaffer and I have been talking about everything that has happened in the last year and a half. She made me take a long hard look at myself and my behavior and I didn't like what I have become. After Dad died I was so angry and hurt that I lashed out at everyone and **you** took it, every inconsiderate action and thoughtless word that I spoke, you never failed to let me know that what I was feeling was normal and that you loved me anyway. Each time you had to go to the school for something that I did or didn't do, you still loved me. I had to do exercises that allowed me to empathize with that driver's son and Dr. Schaffer asked me to think about you and what you were going through. I realize that we have discussed some of this before but Dr. Schaffer made me accept that while I lost my Dad, I still had you to lean on and I would grow up and go to college and find someone to love and have a family. She forced me to acknowledge that for you Dad was all of that and more. When Dad died, you lost everything that you dreamed about for the future together, you had to mourn him **and** the loss of all the plans that you had made. I want you to know that my wake up call has arrived and I promise that I will be a better son to you from now on."

"Liam, I never wanted to burden you with any of this. You are young and shouldn't have to take on those kind of responsibilities. Your Dad was one of a kind, I promised you the other night that I was going to do a better job of being a parent to you, and letting the past go and moving forward. This latest with Abree hasn't changed my resolve but you have shown a different kind of maturity tonight that I am proud of and your Dad would be too. I am going to bed, I will see you in the morning."

"Night, Pappa."

Tony walked out of Liam's bedroom, shaking his head at the work Dr. Schaffer had managed in such a short time. As he crawled into bed, he whispered, "Good night, Jethro."

While he slept, Jethro approached Tony in his dream, they were sitting on the back porch where they had whiled away many hours after the kids were asleep. "Tony, I need you to listen to me for a minute, something's going to happen in the next little bit and I can't tell you what exactly but I know that you need to gather up the rest of the family and tell them about Abree and the baby. You have to be prepared for things to go badly. I want you to know that I love you and the kids and that I am watching over you every day. You have to be careful, don't take chances with yourself at work, and keep the kids safe. Please believe me that if I had any information on what was going to happen and to who I would tell you. Remember what I tell you."

Jethro kissed Tony and faded from view.

"Jethro, Jethro,**Jethro!**" Tony woke up yelling for Jethro, confused at what he had just dreamed.

Jethro stood unseen by the bed and whispered,"Remember Tony."

A/N

I hope that this doesn't disappoint anyone. I thank everyone for reading, favoriting, and reviewing.


	11. Chapter 11

_**The characters belong to CBS. I make no money from this.**_

_**This has been bugging me to be written for the last day or so. Mailea2010 and DS2010 were very encouraging in their reviews and I appreciate it, so I needed to mention how much that meant to me.**_

Tony sat on the edge of his bed breathing hard in and out, trying to calm his racing heart. He looked over at the clock that said ten minutes to three and knew that he wouldn't be sleeping again for a while. His dream had seemed so real, he had touched Jethro, laid his head on his lover's shoulder. Tony had always considered Jethro his lover, they had married and had children but above all Jethro and he were lovers. There was something special about being able to call someone a lover, the word connected two people far closer than husband, or partner. It connected them emotionally and to a depth that he had a hard time even thinking about explaining.

The dream felt like an omen to Tony. It felt like Jethro was telling him something important but Tony was to wrapped up in remembering the loss he felt when he woke up that he brushed the feeling aside as unimportant at the moment. Tony felt like he was being watched and looked around his bedroom. He stood up, walked to the door and headed out to check on the boys. He stopped in Liam's room first and covered him up, wondering why his children seemed so restless in their sleep.

Tony shook his head and decided that 3 in the morning was way to early to be thinking that hard. He walked over to Gabe and Rett's room and looked in on his two youngest. He stood in the doorway just looking at those two beautiful gifts that he lost track of time. As he watched the boys sleep tears were silently making their way down his cheeks, until he reached up and wiped them away before making his way down the stairs to the kitchen and a cup of coffee. Tony turned on the coffee pot, sat down at the table and decided to work on his plans for telling the family about Abree's illness and Liam's change of heart.

He decided to invite them over for dinner that Friday and get it over with. He figured that he could grill something and have the others bring a dish. A grilling potluck would give him time to do his work and help the boys with their song. He remembered that he had promised to help them so that they would succeed with their plan. As he was finalizing those plans, the coffee pot cut off and he fixed himself a cup and went and grabbed his laptop from the desk in the office and set about finding the kids a track to their song. As he sat waiting on the computer to search, he thought back over what the boys had said that they loved about that song.

_Tony had gotten home a little early from work and was standing at the stove sautéing some vegetables for dinner, while Michael Bublé crooned in the background, when Jethro walked through the front door. It had been one of those days at work where no matter what they did they couldn't catch a break. The team hadn't closed the case yet but he had told Tony that he would be home for supper and since McGee had the computers searching for information he had decided that they could start fresh in the morning. He tried to keep from disappointing Tony and the kids anymore than he had to, so making it home for dinner was something that he tried to do at least once a week. He closed the door and went upstairs to change into some clothes that he could "play" in. He walked downstairs and saw the kids playing outside and decided to take advantage of that and snuck up behind Tony and wrapped him in his arms. "Hey, what 'cha fixing?"_

"_I am making a chicken stir fry to tempt the boys into eating vegetables today."_

_Jethro laughed, "Sounds like we are going to have an interesting meal."_

_Jethro turned Tony in his arms and started dancing across the floor with him while _Lost_ played. Jethro looked down at Tony and started singing,"__**You are not alone, I'm always there with you and we'll get lost together, till the light comes pouring through, 'cause when you feel like your done and the darkness has one, Babe your not lost, when your world's crashing down and you cannot bear the thought, I said Baby, your not lost."**__ Tony looked up just as he heard giggling and saw Gabe and Rett standing at the screen door watching them dance._

Tony sat at the table just thinking about that memory until the sun came up and it was time to get the boys up for school. He knew that the week was going to be busy and work hectic but it was nice to be able to remember without the pain of losing Jethro overwhelming him.

A/N

The song that I used was Lost by Michael Bublé. I hope that this chapter doesn't disappoint you. Thanks for reading and reviewing, favoriting, or following. I appreciate it more than I can ever express.


	12. Chapter 12

_**The characters belong to CBS and I make no money on my story.**_

_**First off let me apologize for the lack of update over the last few weeks but getting 3 people ready to go back to school is a pain not to mention that two of us have had band obligations over the last two weeks so life in my house has been on GO. **_

_**To all of my readers and reviewers a big Thank YOU for the patience and not giving up on me as I keep this story rolling.**_

_**For everyone headed back to school Good luck and have a good year! I start my classes back today and am excited to finally be a senior!**_

_**On to the story:**_

Tony's eyes wandered around the backyard watching the kids as they were playing on the playset that Jethro had made just before Liam was three. It had stood in the same spot for fourteen years and was still the place that the family congregated around when they had gatherings. He looked around at the family that he and Jethro had made and couldn't help but smile at the people around him. Tim and his kids, Ziva and Ray and their kids, Breena and Jimmy and their son, Abby, Grampa Ducky, Abree, Liam, Gabe and Rett rounded out the cookout crowd.

Tim McGee had been a part of Tony and Gibbs lives since he had joined the MCRT, he had always known that he would be accepted and loved in their home and even with Gibbs gone the atmosphere and attitude hadn't changed. Tim watched as his kids Caleb and Caylie played with Rett and Gabe. Since the divorce he never had enough time to just sit and watch the kids. He rarely thought of his ex-wife anymore, she had an affair while he was still on Team Gibbs and he decided right then that if he couldn't have the love that Gibbs and Tony had then he was better off alone. Tim shook off the depressing thoughts just as Ziva's girls came running towards him.

"Uncle Tim, Uncle Tim!" Layla and Maya were yelling at the top of their lungs for him.

"Hey, what's the matter with you? Something wrong?" Tim shook his head at the exuberance that the girls were bursting with.

"No but we have missed you, you haven't been around in ages," Layla, the talkative one said.

"Girls, we had dinner at your house last week!" Tim smiled at how much love everyone in the family had for each other. Just as he was about to say something else Tony called for everyone's attention.

"Hey! I would like to get all the kids into the house and watching a movie so that the adults can sit and talk about somethings ok?" Tony knew that this was the only way the adults would get to talk without little ears listening in on things they weren't ready to hear.

Abby went into the living room and put in a cartoon for the kids while Tony hustled the younger children in front of the television. He turned and told them that the adults would be in the kitchen talking and they could come get someone if they needed to.

Tony walked into the kitchen where the family including Liam and Abree had gathered.

Tony spoke in a soft voice," I have something that we need to tell everyone. Abree went to the doctor the other day because she wasn't feeling well and he discovered that she was pregnant..." All around the room gasps and squeals rang out, Tony quickly said the rest before the noise level got to loud," but he also found something abnormal that he said looked like cancer. She has to go to the oncologist next week and Abby has said that she will go with her because I have a court date and can't get out of it. I wanted everyone to know because I know that this is something that the family can help fight but also because you have kept our side of the family going over the last eighteen months and without your help, support, and nagging I don't know if I would be handling this very well. I have no doubts that our family will stand together and help Abree in anyway we can."

After he finished the room erupted again with sounds of disbelief and dismay. Tony looked up from where he was staring a hole in the floor, as the only possible way he could keep his emotions in check, to see a faint figure at the back of the room that quickly disappeared.


End file.
